


Coffee Makes A Good Metaphor

by lovette11



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Get-Together Fic, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Pining, winteriron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-27
Updated: 2014-08-27
Packaged: 2018-02-15 00:57:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2209614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovette11/pseuds/lovette11
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When he was inside he saw Tony, shirtless, pointing at some sort of robot man with a blowtorch. He lifted his mask off his face, now glistened with sweat, and grinned at Bucky. “Shit” Bucky thought, “Shit, he’s hot.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

It took several months for Steve and Sam to find Bucky. The day they did, they had noticed the credit card he had stolen was used to purchase a cup of coffee and cornered him in the café. It took some convincing but eventually Bucky agreed to stay with the Avengers at Stark tower.

“Beats being homeless.” He mumbled into his polystyrene cup with a frown.

* * *

 

Steve dialled Stark on his phone, while Sam hauled a taxi to take them over.

“Y’ello?” Tony answered after a couple rings

“Um, Hi, Tony. It’s me, Steve.” Steve fiddled awkwardly with the keys in his pocket

“Yes, I know, I have caller I.D.”

“Oh, of course. Um-“

“You okay Steve?”

“We, err, we’ve found Bucky.”

“Woah. That’s great Cap! What’s up?” Steve could hear metal clinking in the background, he wasn’t sure if it was the quality of the phone audio or his serum hearing.

“I was wondering if he could stay with us… In the Avengers Tower?”

“ _Stark_ Tower, if anyone still actually cares.” Tony gritted through the mic “But I guess he could stay Cap, are you sure he’s gonna be safe, I mean he was The Winter Solider, capital letters implied, how do we know he won’t come after us one morning at breakfast?”

“He’s not a-“ Steve glanced over at Bucky grinding his jaw beside him and turned away to whisper “He’s not going to kill us Tony. He can stay on my floor.”

“Oh no Cap, I don’t think so, he gets his own floor. His own bed, his own bathroom, he’ll have the works. When do you want to bring him over?”

The cab pulled up to the entrance of the building and Sam began to count the bills to pay the driver as Steve and Bucky got out. Bucky had his hands in fists and a stoic expression but Steve would take it as a good sign that he hadn’t fled the scene yet.

“Now.” He heard Tony emit a squawk over the phone followed by a cutter and winced “If possible. I mean- err, we’re outside.” Steve began to usher Bucky into the tower and was greeted by the receptionist’s short wave.

“No problem Cap, bring yourselves up, we’ll figure it out.” Steve breathed a sigh of relief and turned towards the private elevator, muttering his access code.

“Thanks Tony.” He smiled at the beep indicating the caller had hung up.

 

Turning to Bucky, he grinned. “We got you a room, you’re gonna stay here with me. And the rest of the Avengers of course. Tony is setting up your room.” Bucky nodded.

“Tony is Howard’s son yes? Mr Stark?”

“Yeah Buck. But perhaps don’t mention that, I made the mistake of calling him Howard when we first met and I still don’t think he’s forgiven me…”

“Okay, no Daddy talk. Now that I can do.” Bucky tried to smile but it fell short and Steve felt his heart drop at the sight.

“There is also an Artificial Intelligence called JARVIS that Tony built, he’s everywhere in the tower, you can ask him stuff, even if it’s just “Where’s the coffee?” he’s accessible night and day if you need him. JARVIS say hi!” Steve watched Bucky stare up at the ceiling in anticipation.

“Hello Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes. I feel inclined to tell you that Mr Stark is waiting for you on this level.” This time Bucky managed a grin if only for a few seconds.

“Amazing,” he sighed. The doors opened and sure enough Tony there, his hair was askew and he wore dark jeans covered in oil stains as usual, he cocked a grin.

“Welcome home  Sergeant,” he gestured with an open arm to the floor in front of them, Bucky ignored his body's peak of arousal and inspected the now very fascinating tiles spread of before him.

“Unfortunately I wasn’t given much notice of your arrival,” Steve cast a guilty luck in Tony’s direction but he didn’t seem too bothered  “But the basics were already here considering I have about 6 guest floors, all I really needed to do was give you the tour. You’ve met JARVIS, he’s here at your disposal don’t be afraid to use him. Err, what else? What else? Oh yeah, access codes. Remember this number it’ll get you in and out of the building,” he pulled out the pen from behind his ear and wrote a 6-digit-letter on the back of a stray magazine page, tearing it out he passed it to Bucky who looked at him quizzically “Okay, so tour…Well,  Bathroom” he waved his arm towards a door, “Bedroom.” wave. “Kitchen,” wave. “but everyone usually flocks together on my floor  to eat breakfast and dinner, lord knows why. They say its team-building, yada, yada. Then right here we’re in your lounge, the gym is up 2 floors and that’s accessible 24/7. What else? What else? …Err no I think I’ve given you the run down. I mean there’s Bruce’s medical lab on floor 27, and my workshop down in the basement but you can learn most of this from JARVIS so I’ll leave you to get unpacked and settled in. Don’t be shy if there’s anything I can do for you. I am a genius after all.” He called his hands with a grin. Bucky stood with his mouth slightly agape at the whirlwind of information, Tony turned on his heel to walk out. and Bucky couldn't help but admire the man's retreating figure. “See ya fellas!”

“Wow," Steve frowned "not even one comment about your arm. Tony usually loves that stuff, he made his own suit of metal. Iron man, you heard of that?” Bucky shook his head. Steve just shrugged "I'll have to show you it later if he'll let me..." he took a look around the room. The walls were a light shade of gray with white bordering, the carpet with a compatible shade of charcoal. The only furniture in the room was a sleek wall-mounted TV and a black leather corner sofa. “It’s a bit sparse isn’t it? Maybe we should go shopping?” Bucky shrugged with indifference but as soon as Steve suggested it his phone beeped in his pocket to meet with Director Fury, “JARVIS can you direct Bucky down to the workshop please, I have to run an errand. Hey, maybe you can ask Tony to show you his suit!”

“Of course Captain Rogers.” JARVIS replied, Bucky scowled at Steve.

“Why? Do I really need to be babysat?”

“Well gee, I don’t know Buck, but I’d prefer for you to have company rather than sitting on your lonesome in this empty apartment. That’s all. I think you could get on with Tony.” Steve really did, it was always Bucky’s idea to go to the science fairs when they were kids, Bucky idolised the inventions Howard made and Steve knew he’d be impressed by Tony. Bucky sighed but nodded as they both hopped in the elevator and descended towards the workshop. “I’ll be back soon…” Steve gave a small smile at Bucky’s eye roll and left on the main entrance.”

“Sergeant Barnes. Would you like me to continue to take you down to the workshop?” JARVIS asked, Bucky gave a small smile, he liked that JARVIS phrased the question like Bucky had a choice.

“Yes please JARVIS.” he looked around the elevator dumbly like someone would be watching him talk to thin air. The doors slid open and Bucky could hear loud metal music, he strode down the stairs towards the glass door. The music cut off and he could hear muffled swearing. The light by the door flashed green, Bucky moved to pull it open. When he was inside he saw Tony, shirtless, pointing at some sort of robot man with a blowtorch. He lifted his mask off his face, now glistened with sweat, and grinned at Bucky. _“Shit”_ Bucky thought, _“Shit, he’s hot.”_

“Hey Barnes," Tony winked and Bucky had to avert his gaze before he did something stupid like lick the drop of sweat lining Tony's jaw. "mind if I call you Barnes?” Bucky shook his head quickly, remaining mute. “Cool, what’s up?” Tony tore off the mask and shut off the blowtorch, coming to Bucky’s side to grab a rag and wipe his face. Bucky cleared his throat.

“Um, Steve sent me down here. He had… something.” Bucky cringed inwardly at himself but Tony seemed oblivious and gestured to the work bench. Bucky sat down as Tony grabbed the black t-shirt he was wearing earlier and pulled it over himself oblivious to the way Bucky’s eyes followed the ripples of sweat trail against his skin. Tony turned to find Bucky watching him.

"Sorry about that,” he waved towards the centre of his chest where there was a faint blue glow under the shirt “..keeps the ticker ticking, so it’s necessary.”

“What is it? I haven’t seen one before…” Bucky stared at it for a while, before dragging his eyes to Tony’s face which was laced with amusement.

“Well you wouldn’t have.” He grinned. “It’s an arc reactor, but I minimised it. Long, and frankly depressing, story cut short: I have shrapnel in my chest and this thing,” he taps the blue light “acts as a magnet, making sure the shrapnel doesn’t pierce my heart. It runs on Vibranium which coincidentally is the stuff your best bud’s shield is made of. Fun.”

“But I thought that stuff was one of a kind?” Bucky questioned, he remembered Steve showing his new shield to Bucky in the bar and repeating everything Howard had told him about the new uniform. He wasn’t sure why that was a memory he had kept with him, maybe it was the excitement in Steve's eyes when he spoke about finally getting to be a solider.

“Eh, it was until it wasn’t.” Tony shrugged. “Anyway, night-light chest aside. What’s up?” Bucky shuffled under Tony’s gaze and suddenly felt very out of place, he wondered if he had asked JARVIS to take him back to his floor, would he have done it?

“Well me and Steve were gonna go shopping for stuff for my floor, but then Steve had to go, and he told JARVIS to bring me to you. So here I am.” Bucky made a  'ta-dah' gesture towards himself and Tony smirked.

“There you are indeed," he leered suggestively, a moment later he shot up in his chair "Apartment shopping huh? Okay, I can do that. Give me 15 minutes to get showered and we can hop in one of the cars. I bet you don’t have clothes either, do you?" Bucky shook his head and opened his mouth but closed it again as Tony walked out the door "JARVIS call Ronaldo.” Tony continued talking to JARVIS as he bounced up the stairs of the workshop.

Bucky clicked his tongue, finally looking around to appreciate Tony's workshop. He sat reading his sketches and blueprints that were scattered on the workshop table. They were detailed and organised yet presented themselves in a clutter, the drawings had sharp accurate edges and scrawled hand writing layered across ink smudges and pencil shavings, he flicked through them in fascination as Tony descended the stairs behind him. He grinned at Bucky and shook keys in his face, heading towards a silver car.

“Ever been in a sports car?” Bucky thought hard about it but drew a blank and shrugged his shoulders “Well this is an Audi R8 Spyder. Isn’t she a beauty?” Tony stroked the hood of the car and unlocked the doors. “Get in loser, we’re going shopping… Remind me to punch Barton.” Bucky raised an eyebrow but opened the door and slid in the passenger seat. He wondered if he should make idle conversation but then the roof began to fold in on itself and Tony was revving the engine. He watched from the corner of his eye as Tony laughed with the wind. He had styled his hair and had gotten dressed in a black shirt and grey suit, Bucky found himself averting his gaze before Tony noticed he was staring. He whooped and held his head out of the car, letting his hair fly in the wind for the rest of the journey.

When they pulled up to the mall Tony flashed a smile at the security guard and walked in. The place was empty. Bucky looked around but there were only shop assistants sitting by their cash registers. Tony must’ve noticed his apprehension.

“Oh yeah I called and asked them to shut the mall for the next two hours. I thought it would be easier to shop without people getting in our way-” Bucky more or less translated that to _“I don’t trust you with the general public”_ “-asking for photos and autographs, I mean it's not every day you see Iron Man out shopping in the local mall. I can understand why they'd want me but a man needs his privacy sometimes y'know? Anyway where shall we begin? Homeware or clothing?” Bucky grinned as Tony rocked back and forth on his heels waiting for a response. Tony hadn’t even considered Bucky to be a danger, he didn’t know why that thought made his stomach flutter. He hid his smile in the collar of his coat.

“Clothing. The sooner I’m out of these, the better.” He muffled. Tony just nodded and made his way into one of the first stores to the left. However he walked straight past the rails of clothing and up to the desk.

“Hi, can you get Ronaldo? He should be expecting me.” The blonde nodded and ducked into the back room before emerging with a man the height of Tony but much stockier he kissed Tony on either cheek before making his way to Bucky, he was held back by a hand to the chest and Bucky sighed in relief “This is strictly business today, we just need his sizes, I promise I’ll call in for a gossip next time though.” Tony winked charmingly and Ronaldo nodded with a gracious apology.

“Follow me then please.” He patted Bucky’s back and directed him into the changing stalls where he pushed Bucky onto a pedestal, he pursed his lips and shook his head. “No, no no, too many layers. Go into that room and take off all your clothes except underwear.” Bucky flushed and looked at Tony with side pleading eyes. Tony just shrugged with a sympathetic smile.

“It’ll only be for 5 minutes, I promise you, if you get uncomfortable we can leave straight away.” Bucky nodded and did as directed and soon he was being wound by measuring tape in every direction, the whole time Tony made sure to keep talking to him about science or cars or suits. Bucky even forgot to be self-conscious about his metal arm. As Tony promised it was soon over and Bucky was allowed to put his clothes back on. However the clothes in his changing stall were missing.

“Um, Stark?” He poked his head out the curtain and Tony shot him a look to show he was listening “Where are my clothes?” Tony grinned as the blonde came towards him with a pile of dress shirts and trousers.

“Here.” He passed them to Bucky through the curtain “Pick one shirt, and one pair of trousers to wear for the rest of the day.” Bucky raked through the pile and chose a plain white shirt and black trousers, he knew it was selfish to take advantage of Stark’s wealth but the material was soft of his skin and he was just grateful to get rid of the clothes he got from the goodwill store when he first went on the run. 

Bucky came out with the rest of the shirts and trousers and thanked the blonde who took them from him. He turned to Tony who was staring at him with dilated pupils, Tony dragged his eyes up to Bucky’s face and cleared his throat awkwardly, getting up from the seat, looking anywhere but Bucky. "Um. Let's go pay." 

“Thank you.” Bucky said quietly. Tony flinched but hid it with a quick nod and they headed back to the cash register. Bucky noticed there were several bags resting on the counter. “You buying some new suits too?” he cocked a grin at the bags.

“No they’re yours.” Tony stated simply as he fished out his card.

“Wait what?” Bucky looked at the 5 bags, each filled with a different item of clothing “Tony, no I can’t accept these!” Tony looked him and faltered in his movements for a split second, before grinning and taking the returned credit card.

“I’m a billionaire, Barnes. I think I can afford a few suits.” He took the bags and passed some of them to Bucky “Thanks Ronaldo!” He called behind him as he left the store, Bucky turned to exit the mall. “Where are you going?” Tony held his arm in a surprisingly firm grasp.

“Back to the car..?” Bucky quirked an eyebrow, had Tony lost his mind?

“We haven’t finished shopping? You can’t wear suits all the time. I’m Tony Stark and even I don’t wear suits all the time. Come on we have more to buy!” Tony let go of his arm and walked into the next store whistling. Bucky rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop himself from grinning. _I'm so fucked._ He thought.

They had to make 4 trips to the car and back because they couldn’t handle all the bags, Tony had forced Bucky to try a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cone, although there really wasn’t that much of a fight about it because Bucky thought it looked delicious.

Tony watched Bucky put the last of the bags in the back seat of the car while trying to keep his ice cream from melting on his hand. As Bucky slid in beside him and smiled brightly Tony almost forgot that this was just because Steve was pulled away by Fury last minute. He forced a smile back and hit the button on the radio hoping ACDC would distract him from the fact he was already falling for the man sitting beside him.

* * *

 

They hauled their bags into the tower and Tony leaned back against the elevator with a sigh, Bucky was stood beside him in the midst of clothing and home items they purchased fiddling with the broken handle of a carrier bag. Grabbing the bags, he followed Bucky out onto the floor and rested the bags against the leather couch. And paused, should he stay and unpack? Should he leave? He hated how he didn’t want to leave.

“So, um, do you want a beer? I’m pretty sure it in one of these bags somewhere…” Bucky muttered as he rifled through the bags on the floor. He held the pack up with a triumphant smirk, he took it over to the kitchen work surface and uncapped the bottles with his pen knife, passing one to Tony.

“Thanks,” he moved to pick up the bags but Bucky held his arm.

“They’ll still be there in an hour. I don’t know about you but I just wanna sit down.” He shrugged one shoulder and Tony nodded, they sat together on the couch, Bucky curled his legs up into himself, facing Tony. He sat with the bottle between his knees and began to pick at the sticker. “So, how much do I owe you?” Bucky questioned, looking at the shopping he knew there was no way he could afford to pay for all of it but he was pretty sure he could pay half now and work off the rest in due time. ossibly. Although he may have to sell a few of his organs to afford the tailored suits.

Tony shook his head “Don’t worry about it, consider it a house warming gift.” He sat stiffly, unsure of what to do with himself, Bucky watched his hands play with the beer bottle. They finished their beers in silence both glancing at each other every now and again and feeling awkward when they got caught. “Um, thanks for the beer.” Tony got up and waved around looking for a place to put the bottle before settling it on the floor beside the couch.

“You bought it,” Bucky smirked, he wasn’t sure why he managed it so easily in front of Stark and not Steve, honestly the thought made him feel a little guilty.

“Yeah… I guess I did… It’s almost dinner if you want to join the others upstairs. I can call someone to unpack the stuff for you if you want?” Bucky groaned at the thought of unpacking, he knew he should do it himself but now he had sat down he really had no desire to get back up and haul bags around so he just nodded and said thank you, ignoring the way Tony flinched every time he was shown gratitude.

“So I guess I’ll introduce you to everyone,” he said once they got into the elevator, “JARVIS are the Avengers in the kitchen?”

“Yes Sir. However Thor is not currently within this realm.”

“Oh, right. Thor’s a norse god by the way, he stays here when he comes to Earth but he mostly stays in Asgard, that's like... another planet. I don't know, you can ask JARVIS later.” Tony explained as the elevator stopped and the doors open, Bucky could hear the rumble of chatter from the kitchen, he froze in place with anxiety, his pulse began to pick up. Tony placed his hand on his metal shoulder. Looking into his eyes he gave a soft smile. “James?” Bucky dragged his eyes from the wall to Stark “Listen to me, it’s going to be okay. Okay? Steve’s there. You know Steve. You know me. You won’t be alone in this. Nobody can hurt you. I got you. Okay? We okay?” Bucky nodded and ignored the warmth in his chest from Tony calling him by his first name. And took a deep breath following Tony as he entered the room.

The chatter hardly faltered until Tony laid a punch to a man’s arm. “Barton you piece of shit I quoted Mean Girls today!” The man squawked a protest as he spun around on the stool trying to keep his balance.

“That movie is a cinematic masterpiece and you know it Stark.” He grinned once he regained balance. The redhead next to Barton rolled her eyes. Bucky watched her, he recognised her, he stared uncertainly until she raised a sharp eyebrow at him and he felt inclined to look away.

“What’s cooking good-looking?” Stark folded his arms against the kitchen island and leered at Steve who was currently cutting random ingredients with a short curly-haired man by the oven.

“We’re having chicken chow mien. Bruce is showing me how to dice.”

“Do you have to dice vegetables for chow mien?” Tony questioned curiously trying to get closer to the pan, Steve pushed him out of the way.

“Not really but I couldn’t get him to stop once he learnt how.” The brunette sighed as Steve poured another bowl of diced vegetables into the pan. The chatter remained constant until Tony remembered why he came to the kitchen in the first place.

 “Oh right!!! By the way guys, this is Bucky. You may know him as the Winter Solider, but I trust we can respect that the past was the past..” He pointed at Bucky who still hadn’t moved from his position in the doorway, “Bucky this is, Agent Clint Barton, Agent Natasha Romanoff, Dr Bruce Banner, and obviously Captain Steve Rogers. There, introduced, fabulous.” He clapped his hands with a grin, and walked round the island. “Have fun kids, don’t mess up the kitchen!” Bucky watched him slide past to get to the doorway but held on to his arm.

“You’re leaving?” the Avengers remained engaged in conversation but he knew they were secretly listening in.

“Yeah, I’ve err, I’ve got some stuff to do down in the workshop.” He gestured with his thumb to the elevator.

“You should’ve told me I wouldn’t have bothered you.” Bucky sighed guiltily, running a hand through his hair and nervously glancing at the now eating Avengers.

“It wasn’t urgent, but now Steve’s back you can hang out with him, and I can catch up on the work I missed and it’ll all be dandy.” Bucky flinched at the falseness of Tony’s tone.

“If the work isn’t urgent then you can spare 10 minutes to eat with me…With us, I mean I’d like it if you ate with us.” He let go of Tony’s arm with a light stroke and stepped back into the kitchen “Then catch up on the work I made you miss.” He turned around not willing to see if Tony would walk away as anticipated, and grabbed a plate from the side to join the Avengers on the couch.

He looked to his side with surprise when he saw Tony sit cross legged on the floor beside his chair playing with the noodles on his plate. Bucky smiled softly at him and turned away to see Steve raise an eyebrow. Silent communication was their strong point in the past but he couldn’t work out what message was conveyed within his expression so he just shrugged back faking nonchalance and turned to watch the movie Barton had put on the screen.


	2. Chapter Two

The next morning Bucky woke up in his bed, he remembered Tony finishing his dinner and leaving the room. He was flooded by the overwhelming feeling that he was getting far too attached to the mechanic.  That night when he showered and got into bed he remembered his day with Tony and how they spent an hour bickering over the cotton count of sheets, now he was in them he was grateful for Tony insisting to get the Egyptian cotton because it felt like laying upon a cloud. He smiled to himself.

“JARVIS?”

“Yes Sergeant Barnes?”

“Is Tony seeing anyone? Romantically… Um.”

“No Sergeant. Sir is single.”

Bucky wasn’t sure if he was pleased with that response, who was he kidding, he was ecstatic and he wasn’t quite sure how to interpret that.  He rolled out of bed and showered, he was definitely taking advantage of the constant hot clean water in the tower. He shaves his jaw smoothly with the razors Tony purchased yesterday, he laughed at him for about 15 minutes when they got down the shampoo aisle and Bucky had a _little_ freak out over all the bottles.

> “WHY ARE THERE SO MANY?”
> 
> “Different companies like to try and one up each other’s products, they claim that they all do different things but I’m pretty sure it’s all a scam.”
> 
> “What the hell is happening to the world!? In our day we used the same soap for our hair as we did our dishes.”
> 
> “This is the one I use, it smells like apples, I don’t know, it does the job. I’ll get the same brand conditioner: this stuff you leave on your hair for three minutes and then when you wash it out your hair feels like silk. It’s awesome!”
> 
>  

Tony was right, it was awesome, once he had all the products washed out his hair he towel dried it in front of the mirror.  “Surely there’s gotta be a quicker way of doing this” he groaned to himself.

“There has been an invention called the hair dryer Sergeant Barnes, it runs off electricity shall I purchase one for you?”

Bucky grinned up at the ceiling, he wasn’t quite sure if JARVIS could see him or where JARVIS even came from each time but he accepted the request with a nod.

Bucky took the elevator up to the main kitchen, wand walked out to see Steve leaning against the breakfast bar with a bowl in his hand and paper on the bar in front of him. He hadn't got round to buying his own groceries but he supposed with team meals he wouldn't particularly need to. 

“What’s the time JARVIS?”

“It is 5:38am Sergeant.”

“Thank you JARVIS” he moved into the room and sat down at the breakfast bar, Steve got up and gestured to his bowl

“You want somethin’?”

“Yeah, whatever you’re havin’” Bucky muttered with a hand on his chin, watching as Steve rummaged around the content of the fridge. Steve smiled at him as he passed him a bowl of fruit. "Got any plans today then?" he inquired politely as Steve sat beside him and took the paper from on the side.

"Was gonna do that shopping I promised you, but notice Stark fulfilled that roll." he replied with a grin, Bucky groaned. "Now I'm just thinking about hitting the gym, you can join me?" Bucky considered it. It’d been a while since he had actually worked out and he could use a distraction.

"I'd like that" he smiled, it was nice to have Steve around again.

“Want me to take you there after lunch?” Steve handed Bucky a fork and placed a cup of juice beside his own seat.

“Please,” They ate in companionable silence for a while. “...I can’t decide if this fruit is better or worse than ours.” He muttered scowling at his bowl

“That’s what I said when I first had an apple, apparently they use all sorts of artificial nutrients to make them grow better.”

“Is that safe?” Bucky felt like spitting out the spoonful he just swallowed but Steve shrugged

“I think so. As long as you wash ‘em of any pesticides before you eat them you’re pretty much good to go. Nobody in the tower has died yet.”

“Well, that’s not the typical conversation topic you expect when you enter the kitchen…” Bucky turned around to the new voice in the room, he watched as Tony swept into the corner of the kitchen and idly tap at the coffee machine, his dark watching intently as the black liquid began to boil.

“Never pinned you for an early bird” Bucky stated, raking his eyes at Tony’s appearance, he was in yesterday’s suit but it was now covered in black marks and wrinkles, the sleeves were rolled up and the collar was left undone.

“Is it early or is it late?” Tony shot back as he took the biggest mug from the cupboard and began to pour the coffee into it.

“It’s 20 to 6 Tony.” Steve supplied while taking Bucky’s empty bowl to wash up “Have you slept at all?”

“Been a busy bee Cap, a busy…busy.. busy.. bus-“ he mumbled before downing his entire mug of coffee in short gulps, he pulled the mug away with a wince and after a judgemental stare from Steve mumbled “it was worth it.” He pushed the mug into Steve’s bowl and walked away quickly muttering to JARVIS about alterations to the machine to restrict boiling temperatures, Bucky watched him go, his eyes lingered in the hallway long after Tony had gotten into the elevator. He turned to accept the cup of coffee Steve handed to him and frowned when he noticed it was the same one Steve had just washed up for Tony. Steve just winked and settled back into his seat to read the paper.

“Is this a metaphor?” Bucky said gesturing at the cup

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Steve said as he flicked another page of the paper

“This is Tony’s cup.”

“How ‘bout that” Steve nods into his paper acting uninterested despite the quirk of his lips.

“Why did you give me Tony’s cup?”

“I think it’s a nice cup. Holds lots of coffee, sure, but I reckon coffee could be good for you if you let yourself drink it,” Steve flicks another page as he takes a sip of his glass of juice “are you interested in drinking coffee?”

“This _is_ a metaphor.” Bucky frowns at his cup, the coffee smells delicious but he knows Steve’s game. But Steve’s smiling at him over his paper, soft and gentle, he looks back down at the coffee and lifts it slowly to his mouth, “it’d be easier if the coffee wasn’t so hot.” He smirks as he takes a sip and Steve begins to laugh out loud. They’re still both giggling together as the rest of the Avengers start to arrive into the kitchen.

“You two are so gross together.” Clint groans as he drinks the rest of the coffee straight from the pot.

“We’re gross? You just drunk from the pot, that’s disgusting Clint. Get a mug.” Steve lectures as he cleans the pot in the sink and sets the machine up to make another pot of coffee.

“Don’t hate me cos you ain’t me Cap.” Clint saunters by the bar and takes the cereal from the side and begins pouring two bowls, he passes the bowls to Natasha who is waiting by the fridge with the milk to fill them, Steve them puts two clean spoons in either bowls and sets them down to where Natasha and Clint are now sitting side by side. They work together like well-oiled machinery and Bucky lets a small smile through when he thinks of Steve finding a family with the Avengers.

Bruce comes in yawning and picks from the fruit in the fridge and begins to get out the blender. “Okay guys, 3,  2,  1.” The blender lets out an alarming loud grinding noise before it begins to spin the fruit into a smoothie, Bucky jumps slighty despite the warning as the vibrations rock the pottery beside him. “Sorry,” Bruce looks at him apologetically as he fills a jug with the liquid and begins to wash up the blender. “What’s the agenda today then Steve? Usually you’re on a run by now.”  He asks as he finishes up, turning to Steve who’s sat between Bucky and Clint.

“Yeah giving it a miss since I’m gonna show Bucky the gym, what about you guys?”

“Tony’s gonna do some hulk tests today,  he wants to see if there’s a way we can get clothes that will stay on after I shrink… Apparently there’s been too many complaints of public indecency.” Bruce shrugs with a smirk and pours himself a glass of his smoothie.

“Nat and I are gonna spar in the gym, but if you guys want the room to yourselves we’ll probably just watch the Hulking happen”

“Thanks guys but really, you don’t have to do that.” Steve ducks his head but stands and turns to Bucky. “You ready then Buck?”

Bucky drinks the last of his coffee and nods, dunking his mug in the sink before he leaves to follow Steve to the elevator.

“Okay who wants to start a betting pool of those two banging each other?” Clint grins are he watches them push each other into the elevator. Bruce rolls his eyes and walks out as Natasha places a bet of $20.

* * *

 

"So you and Tony?" Steve steps lightly on the treadmill as he paces beside Bucky. 

He rolls his eyes and shrugs "I just think he's a good lookin' fella alright?!"

"Hey, hey, I'm not judging," Steve raises his hands with a smirk "But if I was I'd tell you to make a move because it's so damn obvious he's just as gone as you are."

At that Bucky trips over his own feet and almost flies back with the belt of the treadmill, Steve lets out a bark of laughter "Shut up." he growls, when Steve's quiet he lasts about 5 seconds before he turns to him and says "You really think so?"

* * *

 

Tony had been working in the workshop for 2 days straight, he wasn’t even sure what he was working on any more, all he keeps thinking about is Bucky sitting at the breakfast bar wearing a white jumper and the star printed pyjama bottoms that Tony bought him as a joke. He sat down at his workbench and sighed, he told JARVIS to save his progress even though he was fairly certain he hadn’t achieved anything within the last 14 hours and went upstairs. He showered, shaved, and ordered for his shirt and trousers to be sent to the launders. Once he changed into some faded ripped jeans and a worn grey t-shirt, that probably sported a logo on several years ago, he made his way upstairs to the kitchen. The Avengers were all sat in front of the TV when Tony walked in and raided the fridge for left over’s.

“There’s some on the top shelf Tony,” Steve muttered from his armchair not missing the way Bucky watched Tony’s shirt ride as he stretched to reach top shelf. Bucky looked away immediately as Tony stepped down.

“Where do I keep the forks?” Tony muttered rifling through the cabinets

“Third drawer to your left Sir” JARVIS supplied, Bucky smirked at the A.I.’s tone of condescension.

“Thanks JAR” Tony made his way to the couch with his plate of chicken salad “What're we watching?” Tony requested as he pulled his legs up and crossed them beneath his plate.

“It's called Momento and it's just starting so shut the hell up.” Clint hissed through Natasha's hair as she laid against his chest. Bruce was in the armchair on the right and Steve took the armchair in the left, leaving the only free seat next to Bucky on the couch. Tony's folded knee rested against Bucky's thigh with a comforting warmth and Bucky had to fold his arms to stop himself from stroking it. Halfway through the Tony left for a brief moment to put the plate in the kitchen, he came back with open beer bottles and placed them on the table without a word, Bucky lunged forward to grab one, when he settled back in the distance between him and Tony was considerably shorter and for the rest of the movie he could only focus on Tony’s steady breaths and radiating warmth. When the credits ran Steve got up and stretched. “Well I guess I’m off to bed.” Steve mumbled through a yawn and left the room, Bucky shuffled around on the couch.

“What time is it JARVIS?” Bucky inquired as the other started stretching out of their seats

“It is 11:19pm Sergeant.” Clint and Natasha shared a look that signified there was a silent conversation happening between them and gave a nod to Bucky as they left the room.

"Do you need help with him?" Bruce nodded at Tony who had fallen asleep cradling the beer bottle to his chest, somehow despite being 6ft 1  he managed to curl himself against the arm of the couch. Bucky shook his head.

"No it's fine." He watched as Bruce hesitated by the arm of the couch "I got him...Thank you."

"Good night." Bruce gave Bucky a small smile as he followed Clint and Natasha.

Bucky smiled and pushed the hair from Tony's face. He took the beer bottle from in between his arms and threw it away with the others. He considered waking Tony up to go to his room but he was cautious that Tony would just head back to the workshop and hide. He knew his metal arm would lift him, so sweeping Tony’s legs over his arm he pulled him up from the couch and headed to the hallway carrying Tony in bridal style.

“JARVIS can you direct me to Tony’s room please?”

“Of course Sergeant, it is the floor above us, and to your left.” Bucky nodded and stood in the elevator.

Tony turned in his arms rubbing his cheek against Bucky’s shirt, watching him with a small smile Bucky carried him out to the room. He laid Tony against the sheets, pulling the duvet over his curled body. Bucky kneeled beside the bed for a brief moment watching Tony’s chest inhale and exhale. His eyes moved to the faint glow of the arc reactor under Tony's shirt, he wondered if it would be cold against his back when Tony leaned against him and- Bucky quickly got to his feet and strolled out the room. Closing the door lightly, he pressed his forehead against the wall. “Ugh I’m so done for” He sighed and headed back to his room to collapse on his bed.

* * *

 

> "Okay I'm cancelling the betting pool," Clint murmured into Nathasha's red hair, she turned around under the bed sheets to face him.
> 
> "Oh really?" the corner of her mouth tugging at a grin, Clint grabbed her hand and fondly stroked it with his thumb 
> 
> "Mmmhmm, I reckon Barnes is gonna jump Stark." 
> 
> "No way! Stark's definitely gonna jump Barnes." She turned back around, Clint's chest vibrated against her back with his laughter
> 
> "You wanna bet on it?"
> 
>  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about 1940 shampoo or fruit, I'm just making a guess that it wasn't a thing. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


	3. Chapter Three

Tony woke up in his bed, which was strange because he couldn't remember getting himself to bed after the movie last night.

"JARVIS?"

"Yes Sir" came the immediate response

"How long was I asleep?" Tony wiped his eyes, his clothes were grungy from having slept in them 

"You slept a remarkable 15 hours, Sir."

Tony sniffed his shirt as he pulled it over his head with a grimace and headed towards his en suite for a shower.

Once Tony spent 30 minutes mulling over life with his head against the shower door, he shaves around his goatee and changes. He heads towards the main kitchen, takes a mug out the cupboard and presses the coffee machine buttons when a beep notifies him that it's out of water.

"Damn it!" Tony takes his empty mug and slams it into the counter, watching as it breaks apart and the shards fly across the kitchen tiles. "Agh! Fuck!" He yells in frustration. When he looks up he notices Clint is sat on the breakfast bar watching him with folded arms and an amused smirk.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," he comments as he hops down, missing the mug shards and leans to refill the coffee machine. Tony works around him, bending up and picking the shards up one by one.

"Someone isn't quite sure how they ended up in bed in the first place..." he muttered throwing the broken mug into the trash can, Clint's head shot up.

"Wait, you really don't know?" he grinned, replacing the mug under the coffee machine and letting it pour out. Tony shook his head with a sigh.

"No Barton, I don't. Is it relevant?" Clint just shot him a wink which he eyed warily. He busied himself with taking the new mug of coffee from the machine. "JARVIS... Who took me to bed?" He asked taking a sip. 

"Sergeant Barnes carried you to bed at 11:28pm, Sir." Tony choked on his coffee, _carried?!_ Clint gave him a whack on the back as he walked away laughing, leaving Tony alone in the Kitchen cradling his coffee mug.

"And, err... where is Barnes?" Tony took another sip faking disinterest although he was talking to an A.I.

"Sergeant Barnes is currently in the gym with Captain Rogers, Sir."

Tony gave a sharp nod and swallowed the rest of his coffee and made a move towards the elevator. "Gym please JARVIS." 

"Of course Sir," Tony was 100% sure that if he had a face his A.I would be wearing a shit-eating grin. 

* * *

 Tony passed Steve as he entered the gym, "Tony!" he grinned, wiping his hair with a towel "How are you?"

"I'm fine Steve, how are you?" Tony meekly replied as his eyes darted around the room searching for the familiar sight of Bucky.

"I'm swell," he replied smoothly smirking at Tony's distraction "If you're wonderin' Buck's in the shower." he grinned and patted Tony on the shoulder. Walking away whistling a tune. 

"Really Cap? Star Spangled Banner? Could you be more of a stereotype?" Tony called to his retreating figure, when he turned to enter the room he was met by the sight of Bucky sauntering towards him with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Tony's eyes were glued to the drop of water trickling down his navel when he heard a chuckle.

"You okay there Stark?" Bucky smirked at him and folded the towel at his hip "You seem a bit-"

"Fine!" Tony winced at the volume of his reply "I mean no. I mean yeah... I mean yes!! I'm good...Very..." he followed another droplet down Bucky's flesh bicep "very...good."

Bucky chuckled "Okay Stark, well I'm gonna go... Put. Clothes. On..." he pointed his finger over Tony's shoulder as he walked forward and smiled smugly

"Oh I wouldn't do that..." Stark muttered as Bucky came to a steady halt in front of him. Tony watched as the water from his hair, ran down his face, framing his lips. He intently stared at his tongue darting out to swipe it away.

"Oh really? Well, what would you suggest?" Bucky leered forward, his bare chest touching Tony's shirt, Tony felt the damp leak through the thin material and dragged his eyes from Bucky's lips.

"Well if it were up to me I wou-"

"-absolutely do not believe for one second that you could... Oh." Clint faltered, stopping in the doorway, letting Natasha draw up beside him. Bucky took a step back and cleared his throat, nodding at them individually with as much pride as he could muster shirtless, before running away. Tony them gave a salute.

"Fancy seeing you here" he plastered on a grin that they both knew was fake, Natasha folded her arms.

"Stark." she glared, his grin dropped and he bowed his head in shame "What did you do?" she hissed hitting Clint on the chest, ignoring the way he howled dramatically. She strolled up to Tony and cocked a chin in the direction Bucky ran "You need to fix this." Tony nodded and slid out the room like a child being scolded by his parents. Pretending he didn't hear Clint whine "Hey! You're influencing our bet!!"

* * *

Tony stood outside Bucky's room pacing, he had every intention of knocking on the door, he was about to do it, honest to God he was, when he heard Bucky's voice call through the walls "I can hear your footsteps Stark." Tony took a deep breath and opened the door to Bucky sitting on the edge of his bed now dressed in jeans and a black v neck, towel drying his hair.

"So..." he looked around the room at the new interior, he spotted some of the canvas' he had thrown into their shopping cart whilst they were shopping now pinned up above his bed.

"So." Bucky repeated with an amused quiver of his lips, passing Tony to put his towel in the laundry basket. Tony moved and sat on the edge of the bed, interlocking his palms and twiddling his thumbs while Bucky came back and leant against the dresser opposite him.

"We should probably talk... About us... I mean we should talk about you.. and err, probably me as well. And Us. Together. I mean, well... There is no us, and we are not together, I mean we are _technically_ together in your bedroom right now, but we're not _really_ together.. in.. your bedroom... right... now." he finished off lamely. Bucky let out a soft laugh and stalked forward.

"And how would you like us to be Stark?" he muttered lowly as he dropped to his knees in front of Tony, poking at Tony's knee with his nose

"I..." Tony's mind drew blank as he felt the heat of Bucky's breath through his pants "I have no idea" Stark sighed dumbly. Bucky pulled himself back and nodded sharply not looking Tony in the eye. Tony really wanted someone to punch him in the face right now.

"Well when you figure it out, you should let me know." He pats Tony's knee with a sad smile and pushes himself up on the floor and walks out the room. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Count how many times I say coffee within this chapter, I dare you.
> 
> P.S. I am also using the heights off the information I found online where Stark is 6"1 and Bucky is 5"9. Though taller!Bucky works for me any day.
> 
> http://marvel.wikia.com/James_Buchanan_Barnes_(Earth-616)  
> http://marvel.wikia.com/Iron_Man_(Anthony_%22Tony%22_Stark)
> 
> P.P.S. This is super short and I'm sorry


	4. Chapter Four

Bucky had been living at the Avengers tower for 2 weeks now, and he was at home as he would ever be, he had been training with Steve daily, and sparring with both Clint and Natasha. He tried to avoid Tony as much as necessary, the ball was in Tony’s court now. He still wanted to jump the guy every second, but if there was one thing Bucky was good at, it was self-control he wasn’t sure if he was grateful of The Winter Solider for that.

For the first time since his visit the Avengers were called to assemble. Each of them arrived in the kitchen with their suits on, Bucky sat with his bacon sandwich at the breakfast bar while they talked through the game plan with a sense of urgency, he got up to grab a glass of milk, when he closed the fridge Iron Man was staring at him. At least he thinks it’s staring at him, it doesn’t have eyes so he could be looking anywhere. The helmet’s gaze was slightly concerning so Bucky rolled his eyes and smirked into his milk as he turned away, though when he tried to walk there was a weight on his bionic arm. He looked down to see red meet silver metal.

“Where are you going?” the voice sounded like Tony except less personal, Bucky wasn’t sure if that was actually a feature of the suit.

“To eat my breakfast,” Bucky explained slowly as he extracted himself from Iron Man’s grip.

“Are you sure you want to do that? Don’t you want to suit up?” Iron Man folded his arms and leant against the fridge door, Tony somehow made every action look smooth despite being coated in 240lbs of metal.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Are you sure that’s your opinion?” Iron Man’s face plate lifted up and Tony was watching Bucky with concern, the crease between his eyebrow deepened when Bucky turned away and nodded at his sandwich. “Well I think you’d be great, Natasha said you managed to floor her 4 times in these past 2 weeks. Believe me, that doesn’t just happen as fluke, and she sure as hell ain’t letting you win. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, but I don’t believe for a second that you don’t want to join us.” He shrugged and came to the other side of the bench and stared at Bucky “You could be a hero… If you let yourself.” He smiled, not a smirk or a manic grin, or a even a I’m-Tony-Stark smile, it was delicate and soft and everything Tony Stark wasn’t and Bucky wanted to see it all the time, he smiled back.

“I’ll consider it Stark.” He picked up his sandwich and Iron Man’s faceplate came back up into place, with a nod.

“See that you do Barnes.” He gave a small wave and walked out down the hall to go and save the world. Bucky couldn’t help but immediately regret the decision he made. He turned on the news and watched Iron Man arriving to the scene of the crime. He wished he could be out fighting beside his best friend, protecting his country. He watched as Steve and Tony worked together flawlessly reflecting repulsor beams on the shield and hitting the aliens. Bucky wasn’t even sure what they were. They looked like colourful mechanical people, but when hit they bled lime green slime. The camera panned onto Black Widow tearing limbs off an alien whilst the Hulk just slammed them into the sidewalk. In the background of the scene there were arrows hitting aliens in the head, they dropped like flies.

The Avengers came together with their backs creating a circle as they watched for any more aliens arriving .The news anchor popped up alongside a clip of the Avengers retreating to the tower as she made an official statement on the fight. Bucky noticed Stark was falling behind the group with a limp, when all of a sudden one of the aliens from the floor pulled his leg, swinging themselves over him and pinning him to the ground.

She grabbed a metal rod from the ground and stabbed the armour in the joint by his neck and collar bone. Captain’s shield flew into the ribs of the alien but Iron Man’s face plant withdrew to reveal Stark gasping for breath.

“JARVIS shut it off.” Bucky growled, wiping at budding tears in his eyes.

He waited by the entrance of Stark tower as Steve carried Tony in. He inhaled sharply, they had wrapped Clint’s shirt tightly around the wound. “How is he?” it was a stupid question. Probably none of them even knew the answer but he had to hear it was going to be okay. He had to hear those words, he wasn’t sure why.

“Lost a lot of blood.” Steve grimaced as he jostled Tony in his arms slightly to get a better grip as they entered the elevator, Natasha and Clint had taken the stairs. “He fell unconscious about 3 minutes ago, we’re taking him to Bruce’s lab. The paramedics are on their way. For now all we can do is get him medical attention as soon as possible.”

Bucky nodded and waited beside Steve until the elevator doors opened and Steve ran out to put Tony on the bed Natasha and Clint had set up. Beside it was a trolley flowing with first aid kit.

“We need to get him out of the uniform, any ideas?” Bruce wavered by Tony’s body as it lay on the bed.

“There is an emergency retract leaver on the back of the neck Dr.” JARVIS answered, artificial voice laced with concern. Bucky sat in the computer chair by Bruce’s desk. Watching as the Avengers set to work on cleaning the wound, they had seen several injuries before, enough to have the basic medical knowledge. Once Bruce was finished with stitches, the medics came in with a gurney and lifted Tony’s body from the bed and took it with them into the ambulance downstairs, the Avengers followed up until getting in the back.

“Only one of you can join us in the back of the ambulance.” A medic said as she settled Tony into position. Steve pushed Bucky forward, and the medic helped him up into the back of the ambulance.

He looked back at Steve, “Go, we’ll take a couple of Stark’s cars and meet you there.” He nodded and watched as the doors shut and the ambulance began to wail. He held onto Tony’s limp hand, it was still warm and his palm was till pulsing, Bucky let out a small laugh, tears stinging his eyes he kissed Tony’s knuckles.

“Oh thank God.”

* * *

 

Tony woke up in a white room and immediately groaned. He tossed his head to the side to get a look at his surroundings.

“Careful.” He turned towards the voice, there was a warm palm on his neck, he could see Bucky smiling down at him with tired eyes.

“You look like shit.” Tony mumbled as he rested his head into the hand. Bucky chuckled and shook his head.

“Yeah well trust me, you look 10 times worse. Do you know where you are?” Bucky looked at him with apprehension, Tony whined when he pulled his hand away from his face to pour a cup of water from the side. He passed it to Tony who drunk it all eagerly, before pouring another cup and repeating twice more until Tony had enough.

“I’m at the hospital, I was hit by an alien. My body hurts and now I need to pee.” Bucky returned his hand on Tony’s jaw and stroked his stubble for a while.

“You shouldn’t have drunk so much then.” He said softly as Tony curled into his touch again. He liked that he could touch Tony affectionately without him flinching, he like that Tony encouraged it, he wished it could be like this all the time. He rested his arm against the side of the bed, laid his chin on his arm and watched Tony watch him for what seemed like only seconds until the rest of the Avengers came in. He shot up and readjusted his position in the chair, even though they all knew he had been sleeping there since the night Tony was admitted.

“If you two are done making doe eyes at each other we’d like to get a professional in here.” Clint said loudly as he came to the seat next to Bucky. Steve shot an apologetic look to Bucky on the opposite side of the bed and Natasha sat on Clint’s lip, stroking her fingers through his hair absently. Bruce came in a couple of seconds later joined by a doctor, talking over the medical situation. Bruce was smiling which Bucky took for a good sign.

“He’ll be out of active duty for 4 months. No strenuous activity for at least 2 months. His stitches should heal in 6 weeks, he’s patched up nicely. He’s finally got enough blood to deem him safe to be sent home. We’d like to see him back in 4 months to make sure there was no permanent muscle or tissue damage but from what we can tell, that alien had a crappy aim. Keep him dosed with the following pain meds and he should be fine. It’ll ache but we can always offer him a physiotherapist if he so requires. He also has minor collateral ligament swelling but he has rested and it should subside by the end of this week.” The doctor smiled and handed over the forms to Bruce and left the room. Tony blinked at the rest of the team, just realising he had briefly fallen asleep.

“Mornin’.” He slurred. He made to move and sit up but winced, Bucky held his chest as he repositioned himself and sat back down in his chair once Tony was upright.

“Tony we’re gonna take you home today. You’ve been in hospital for 3 days because you lost a lot of blood. You’re not allowed to do any strenuous activity for 2 months, which means no workshop. Do you understand me?” Steve spoke slowly and clearly but Tony just snorted in his face.

“Yes Steve, I understand you.” Tony turned his palm upright and waved his fingers on either hand, his pinkie patting against Bucky’s on the bed. Steve nodded and the team got up one by one.

“See you back at home, Stark. I’ll make sure to queue Frozen for your arrival.” Barton stuck his tongue out as Tony groaned and flung his head back against the pillow.

“Don’t do that you’ll pull your stitches.” Bucky slapped at his hand and then recoiled once he realised the team was watching him “Err-“

“Don’t frighten us like that again Tony.” Natasha warned, her fingers curled around Clint’s, they waited for Steve to stand and join them before they walked out.

Bruce and Bucky were left, sat with just the scratch of Bruce’s pen signing the medical forms as noise. Tony was watching Bucky with a frown. Bruce got up, presumably to hand the files to the doctor.

“What are you looking at Stark? Bucky gritted looking anywhere but Tony’s beaten face. It was covered in dirt, sweat and dried blood and Bucky hated himself more every minute he wasn’t there to fight alongside him.

“I’m looking at you.” Tony stated simply, gaze unwavering.

“…I see that” Bucky sighed and stared right back, trying to read the gaze Tony pinned him with “Why?”

“You’re pretty.” Bucky hesitated, watching Tony as he shrugged it off like no big deal

“You just told me I looked like shit.” Bucky replied dryly

”You do… But even when you look like shit you’re pretty.” Tony cocked his head eyes raking down Bucky’s chest and back up again. “You were wearing that when I left you… You stayed with me.”

Bucky smiled softly and grabbed Tony’s hand in a firm grasp. “Of course I stayed with you Stark, you dumbass.” He gave Tony’s hand a squeeze and had every intention of letting go except for the part where he didn’t.

“That’s nice. I like that. I like you.” Tony mumbled as he laid his head against the pillow. And sighed “Yeah, I like you a lot.”

“Okay Stark, that’s the meds kicking in.” Bucky chuckled to himself and Tony fell back asleep. He kept hold of Tony’s hand even when Bruce came in to take them home.

* * *

Tony woke up with a groan, his whole body ached. He curled into the warmth by his side and snuffled. He rested his head down, only to realise there was a steady rise and fall and that the warmth was a chest. In his bed. There was a person in his bed. Tony blinked, eyes readjusting to the light and looked around the room.

"Oh hey you're awake" Bucky smiled and put down the book in his hand, Tony didn't recognise it as one of his own, did Tony even own books in the tower? Maybe there was a library somewhere, if there wasn't he should build one. Bucky would like that. He'd have to ask Pepper about that later.

"What're you doing here?" Tony mumbled into Bucky's chest

"Oh, you err, asked me to stay. Must've been your meds. I'll, err, I'll just go now. I guess." Tony shot his head up and glared at Bucky who was now sliding from beneath the bed covers.

"You'll do no such thing Barnes." he said as fiercely as he could with his head lolling against Bucky's hip, he should probably consider moving it but Bucky is warm and his head is heavy and his neck hurts and he has several more excuses that he isn't afraid to use. 

"You sure about that?" Bucky said, but retreated back under the covers with a smirk, Tony just gave him a long 'mmm' in response before he fell back to sleep.

The next time Tony woke up it was with his back pressed against the warmth and he let himself indulge in the moment.

He got up to relieve his bladder, "JARVIS what's the time?" 

"It is 7:10am Sir."

Tony wonders how inappropriate it would be if he crawled back into bed but shook his head and entered the shower. The heat against his body was therapeutic, he was sure he hadn't been washed since he been in hospital, he grimaced at the thought of splaying himself over Bucky in that state. 

When he exited the shower he pulled on a pair of boxers and noticed the sharp jagged scar across his collar trailing up his neck and poked at it self consciously as he walked out the room. He began picking out clothes for the day when he heard the sheets rustle behind him.

"Don't poke at your stitches." came a sleepy murmur and Tony turned to see Bucky laid with his head propped against the pillows and headboard, his hair was tied up but tousled by sleep, strands fell in front of his face which frowned at Tony.

"What? Why not?" Tony replied childishly as he stepped into his jeans, ferociously wrapping the belt around his waist.

"They'll come undone and we'll have to sew them all over again. Honestly Tony, do you have _any_ consideration for other people?!" He growled tugging at the duvet and throwing it off himself as he swung himself of the bed.

"No, I don't. Maybe I should've included that in the welcoming package?!" Tony yelled in retort as he flung his arms into his jumper.

"For god's sake Tony be careful!!" Bucky yelled, when Tony stopped pulling his arms around his head he brought them down to reveal an open wound where he had torn the stitches, Bucky sighed at the blood seeping through the material of the shirt. "Take it off and come with me." he stated simply, blank of any emotion as he left the room. Tony had no choice but to follow.

He slowly walked into the lounge to see Bucky knelt at the coffee table with a first aid kit, he nodded to the empty floor beside him. "Sit." he ordered and Tony complied. He doted around Tony's wound with precision, washing it with antiseptic then replacing the stitches. Tony watched his face furrow in concentration, how his forehead creased and his teeth held his tongue in place until it was over. "I just have a question," he admitted as he began placing everything back into the kit "then you can go." Tony nodded and leant against the foot of the table. Bucky hesitated with his hand over the kit, pulling it into his lap he looked at Tony. "Why didn't you check out my arm?"

Tony found himself sitting a little straighter and considered the question. "I, err, I didn't care." Tony watched as Bucky's face fell laced with hurt and anger, he made a move to get up but Tony held a hand out to stop him "No! No, I didn't mean it like that! I care! Of course I care, dumbass, I'm just not so good with words... I just meant, I didn't think anything of it cos it was just you, you know? Like when you first arrived I was so... Done. I just watched you walk out that elevator and I knew something. I'm still figuring out what that something was though," he grinned "but the arm wasn't an object for me, it wasn't a toy, it was just you. And I was endlessly fascinated by you that I admit I actually forgot to be fascinated by _it_." he sighed with a one-shouldered shrug "And for the record, I checked out your arm multiple times, among other things." he winked and Bucky rolled his eyes but smiled back so Tony took it was a win.

"Take these and get some rest," he smiled and passed Tony two pink pills with a glass of water. Tony nodded and obeyed, flopping face down into his pillow once he reached his bed.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used this reference for my Iron Man armour weight.I don't even think that suit has an emergency release button but this is fanfiction I'm making shit up as I go along. Again, correct me if I'm wrong about anything.  
> http://www.marveldirectory.com/miscellaneous/ironmanmarkvi.htm


	5. Chapter 5

Tony couldn't ignore the ache in his chest any longer, he was missing Barnes. He knew he was technically responsible for the man avoiding him like the plague, but that didn't make it hurt any less when he watched Bucky subtly shift out of the room whenever Tony entered. Eventually the other Avengers even begun to notice.

 

 

> "Tony?" Steve and Bucky sat watching Star Trek when Tony came to grab a mug of coffee, Bucky left his side and walked out the door
> 
> "What?" Tony finally looked up from the coffee machine and noticed Steve staring at him over the back of the sofa.
> 
> "What happened with you and Buck?" 
> 
> "Don't worry Cap I didn't break your precious boyfriend." Tony grunted. Steve stood and cornered him by the doorway
> 
> "He's not my boyfriend, and he's not the only one I'm worried about. You're my best friend too Tony. Are you okay?"
> 
> "I'm fine Capsicle." Tony plastered on a false grin and threw in a double thumbs up for extra measure
> 
> "I wish I could believe you," Steve sighed and walked back to the couch.
> 
>  
> 
> "Woah trouble in paradise Stark?" Clint frowned as Bucky breezed past him, Tony's vice grip on the kitchen worktop had his fingertips turning white
> 
> "Shut up Barton." Tony seethed through gritted teeth and slammed a fist on the worktop before walking out.
> 
>  
> 
> "Tony you should really leave the workshop..." Bruce muttered as he walked inside and was met with Tony waving a hammer around 
> 
> "Why? So Barnes can just run away from me?" Tony snarled back as he laid an unrelenting hit against his armour
> 
> "Oh."
> 
>  
> 
> "Stark get out." Natasha appeared from nowhere, Stark muttered profanities and turned to face her, not taking off his welding mask
> 
> "This is my tower." He moved to turn around but the next thing he knew he was being tossed over in a flip and held in place by Natasha's thighs
> 
> "You're gonna get up, and you're gonna shower, then you're gonna come to the kitchen and eat dinner with us. You got that Stark?" Tony nodded as best he could with limited air supply.

Which is how Tony found himself absent-mindedly picking at the pepperoni on his pizza while the team watched James Bond. Tony rested the back of his head against the sofa and sighed. It was almost laughable how complicated this had all become in such a short time span. he still had a plate full of pizza by the time the team separated into their own quarters. 

"JARVIS turn off the TV." Tony ordered watching as the room's blue hue shut off to pitch black. He sat on the floor for a while in the dark before muttering "Get a grip Stark" and pulling himself up. "JARVIS, lights at 40%." he moved to throw away his pizza and began running water to wash dishes.

"Never thought the great Tony Stark washed his own dishes." Clint appeared in the doorway, his shoulder resting against the frame

"Well what can I say? I'm a giver." Tony gave him a tight-lipped smile and scrubbed at the plates with the sponge, feeling Clint's eyes penetrate his skin.

"Everybody knows but you. It was funny until it got kinda sad." Clint admitted, pulling himself up onto a bar stool. Tony turned to him and grabbed a dish cloth from the work top.

"Knows how madly in love I am with Barnes? Yeah, no I figured that part out a while back." He replied as he turned around to dry the dishes.

"Dude I was just gonna say you wanted his dick up your ass." Tony snapped his head to the side watching as Clint held his hands up in surrender "This is getting a bit too personal for me."

"Really? Dicks up asses is fine but you draw the line at the L-word?" Tony laughed and turned back to his dishes, listening to Clint's footsteps retreat. 

Tony finished washing up and drying up but his fingers still itched with nervous energy. He began to stack the plates and pack them into the cupboards.

"Did you mean it?" Tony turned around, Bucky was standing there in a soft cotton t-shirt and the stupid star pyjama pants, Tony laughed at them.

"Mean what?" Tony met Bucky's eyes

"What you said to Clint..." Tony swallowed and focussed on the lamp behind Bucky, was that new? It seemed new. He couldn't remember buying it. Maybe Pepper bought it. He'd ask her about that later. He was starting to rack up a list.

"You err, you heard that?" He shifted nervously, tucking his hands into his pockets, taking them out again, tucking them in again, folding them, unfolding them, suddenly a pair of hands coated his own and Bucky was right in front of him.

"Yeah. I heard." he spoke softly, his breath smelt of mint, Tony wanted to taste it. "Did you mean it?" Bucky rested his forehead against Tony's and looked into his eyes, all Tony could do was nod gently against Bucky's head.

"Yeah. I did," he smiled "for the longest time i was trying to figure out why I wanted you the moment I saw you. I thought it was lust but it wasn't because I know lust, lust I understand. But with you I just wanted to get to know you, and talk to you, and tell you about my latest projects, and consider the future, and _talk about feelings_ " Tony dramatically shuddered and Bucky let out a small chuckle "and I thought about how you'd look first thing in the morning and how I wanted you to be the last thing I saw when I went to sleep," Bucky kissed his collar bone and began to kiss along his jaw as Tony ranted "and I wanted to be near you all the time, and share my favourite food with you, and buy you nice things like flights to Rome but also just go out to the park together, and maybe pet dogs-" the kisses faltered

"Dogs?" Bucky leant back and studied Tony, he shrugged

"I like dogs?"

"I like dogs." Bucky grinned and resumed kissing Tony's cheek

"I like that you like dogs." Tony replied dumbly, Bucky was getting closer to his mouth, "and I thought about how one day we might Avenge together, and I'd get to call you my partner, even if it was just as team mates. I loved the idea of you and then I got to know you and you blew everything out of the water and I couldn't stand the thought of being near you without getting to comb my fingers through your hair, or hold your hand, or kiss..your..mouth" Tony breathed heavily against Bucky's lips

"I'm not gonna stop ya" he grinned as Tony's teeth pulled on his bottom lip and drew him in. Their lips crashing together with brutality. Bucky grabbed Tony's collar, hands moving to the back of the neck and cradling his jaw."Iloveyou" Tony muttered into the kiss, lips not moving from Bucky's. He pushed Bucky backwards until he was pressed against the breakfast bar and Tony's body, slipping a thigh between Bucky's legs he fought each item of clothing. Bucky thrust his hips, grinding on Tony's thigh.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait..." Tony pulled back and Bucky frowned, hands hovering either side of Tony's shoulders. "We're acting like a pair of horny teenagers, there's literally a bed 6 feet away."

Bucky grinned and tugged Tony by his belt "Mmm I like the sound of that..."

* * *

 

Bucky turned over into the golden skin behind him, his head curving into the fingers threading through his hair. He hummed softly, looking up into brown eyes he smiled.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself." Tony winked, grabbing his hip and pulling him forward into a slow kiss

"Mmm, Coffee?"

"No my name's Tony. However I will also accept "Iron Man", "hot guy with the goatee", "boyfriend", or "guy with the colossal penis"." Tony replied, Bucky rolled his eyes and patted him on the stomach as he rolled out of bed.

"I like boyfriend." He smiled as he pulled on a pair of boxers from Tony's drawers.

"I like boyfriend." Tony replied leaning on his elbow ignorantly watching Bucky bend over into his dresser and walk towards him.

"I like that you like boyfriend." Bucky replied placing a light kiss on Tony's arc reactor, grinning down at him once he stands up.

"Is that all you like?" Tony frowned locking his arms around Bucky's waist and pulling him back on to the bed.

"No, I also _really_ like your colossal penis."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my first ever fic so there is about a bagillilon plot-holes. I hate myself. The world needs more winterion though.
> 
> But I did the clever ending where Bucky calls Tony Coffee and the whole Coffee=Tony metaphor with Steve and everything is connected and the world is a conspiracy theory created by the government yada yada.


End file.
